Suspended Police Inspector Vashisht Andale, arrested in 2003 on the charge of conniving with prime accused in fake stamp paper scam Abdul Karim Telgi, was on Tuesday released on bail by the Bombay high court.
Andale, arrested eight months ago under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), is the first among the 52-odd accused in this case to be released on bail.
Justice D G Deshpande fixed the bail amount at Rs 25,000 saying there appeared to be no evidence against the cop but restrained him from leaving Mumbai till further orders.
Soon after the verdict, the CBI said it would challenge the order in the Supreme Court. A CBI officer said Telgi's associate Sajju claimed Andale had been paid money to cover up a seizure.
According to the prosecution, Andale was attached to the Mumbai Crime Branch when he allegedly seized fake stamp paper in central Mumbai. However, he allegedly looked the other way after accepting money from Telgi's men.
The prosecution argued that co-accused and witnesses had given statements that they had given Rs 15 lakh on Telgi's behalf to Andale.
However, the court accepted arguments of Andale's lawyers Ashok Mundargi and Manisha Patil that these statements were recorded six years after the alleged incident and moreover after Andale had sought bail in a lower court.
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